Seriously Black
by checkerboxed
Summary: When Love and War collide, Sirius Black will play as dirty as needed to get what he wants. Even if he wants his enemy. [Chapter Two Up.]
1. Out of Order

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of the characters that belong to anyone but me. I don't own much at all, really.  
oOo

**Seriously Black  
**--Checkerboxed  
oOo

**Chapter One **

_Out of Order_

* * *

Oh yes, the Maruaders loved a good laugh. Even when it was at their own expense- but mostly when it wasn't. It was for that particualar reason that the four of them, James, Remus, Sirius, and Peter were submersed three feet beneath the surface of the Lake, breathing through air bubbles, which surrounded their heads, allowing them to see and talk. 

They were playing a prank. The prank that they were pulling was, of course, James's idea.

A prank that might be considered slightly ( if not overly) dangerous.

"Prongs, remind me again why we are here?" Remus said impatiently, his voice contorted by the water. He was a thin, rather short boy with hair that was an odd brownish gray color. His eyes were also gray. He had a slightly pinched look about him, like someone who regularly came down with serious illnesses.

"Yes, Prongsie Poo, do enlighten us." This was Sirius. Sirius was tall, with short dark hair, and very dark eyes. He wasnt thin, but he also wasnt fat- he was muscular, and a bigger build than his friends- but that was right, considering he was a beater for the Gryffindor house Quidditch team. His voice was very deap- one of the reasons so many girls at Hogwarts were madly in love with him.

"Mphg." Peter, struggling to release himself from a bit of seaweed that had latched onto his foot, collided with Remus.

"Peter, careful!" Remus pushed his friend away. "Anyway, James-"

"Oh yes, where were we, Jamesie, had we got to the kissing, yet?" Sirius puckered his lips at James and batted his eyes.

"Exscuse me, but-" Peter cut in, waving his arms wildly in the water, disturbing a school of fish, who swam away, their scales flashing.

"Oh, Sirius, we hadn't- I mean, if you still want to…" James simpered, pretending to blush.

"Oh, cut it out, you two, 'cause-" Remus interjected.

"Jamsie, you know I dont like to be called by a horrible widdle name like Siwius… it makes me sound so… so… stupid! What happened to da widdle pet namsie wamsies you used to call me? Buttercup, and Sunshine, Flower-of-your-Life-"

At this, Remus began to make gagging noises.

"-and Pumpkin-nickle-bread, and-"

Remus doubled over, now making retching noises.

"-and Puppy, and Dogsy Doo, and Widdle Dumpsk-"

"Help!" Peter shouted, making the other three turn in the water- his legs were now throuroughly trapped by green plants, and more tendrils were creeping up his arms…

The other three Maruaders looked down to see tendrils wrapping their legs… they looked at each other in panic… they were stuck, and the air in the bubbles shouldn't last much longer…

* * *

Rachel Cole stood at a library window, watching the lake. She had just seen the Terrible Four plunge underwater- and they hadnt come out again. She turned away, deciding not to get involved. They knew what they were doing- probably. She opened her book ( The History of Transfiguration by Lucinda Goshawk) and tried to get immersed in it. 

After several minutes of trying hard- and failing miserably- to ignore the sinking feeling that something had happened to the four, she stood up and glanced out the window again. The lake was clear, but devoid of movement other than the lapping of the waves against the bank.

Madam Fowl stood up from behind her desk and clapped her hands loudly. "Alright, all of you- Library is closing! So out! Out!" She turned toward the nearest students- a large group of very frightened looking first years, flapping her hands at them. "Gather your books, and get back to your dormitories! Out!"

Rachel took one last look out of the window. A solitary figure was striding down toward the lake, straightening its robes. When it reached the lake, it stopped, then headed off toward a grove of trees that overlooked the lake. He was soon lost from sight. Suddenly, the giant Squid reared out of the lake, causing the waves to lap even harder against the lake's edge.

Rachel gasped in shock. She stood there, her hands pressed against the glass of the window, as she watched the figure at the lake pull out its wand…

And suddenly, Madam Fowl was right behind her, who turned from the window reluctantly. "Miss Cole, I wonder if you heard me the first time I said it: _get_-_OUT_!" Madam Fowl shrieked.

"Yes, Madam Fowl, sorry!" Rachel apologised hurriedly, gathering her books and parchment and stuffing them in her bag. She left the Library just as hurriedly, slowing down as she reached the Great Hall, where the doors were being closed.

She skulked in a corner, intent on seeing if the Maruaders would make an appearance. The doors, closing magically on their own, were almost shut. Rachel found herself holding her breath, and she let it out slowly when a cloaked figure hurried throught the door. He was sopping wet , but Rachel couldnt see his face. He seemed oddly tall for Pettigrew, but he had blonde hair-

Lucius Malfoy turned toward her just as the doors closed with a bang. Rachel shrunk farther into the shadows, but he saw her. He threw her a disgusted look, then muttered angrily. "You- you-" he stood there for a moment, seething. "You- get back to your dormitories- before- before- I dock points from your house!" With that, he swept off down the hall, leaving a trail of water behind him.

"He can't dock points from Gryffindor- he's not even a prefect!" Rachel said to herself, before heading toward the Gryffindor Common Room, her mind reeling with questions. What were the Maruaders doing in the lake, had they come out, what was Malfoy doing down there, why was he so wet, and what did he mean, dock points from Gryffindor?

When Rachel arrived at the portrait hole to the Gryffindor common room, she found that the Fat Lady was not in her portrait. "Damn," Rachel said, dropping her bag and jogging up and down the hall, scanning each portrait on the wall for any sign of the Fat Lady. She was nowhere to be found.

"Oh, damn, damn, damn," Rachel swore, racking her brains for an idea of what to do. Nothing came to mind, so she sat down next to the portrait hole, resting her head on her hands.

After fifteen minutes or so, she heard a noise down the hall. She lifted her head in time to see Peeves, the school poltergeist, lob a large amount of pudding at her. She dove forward, just barely avoiding being hit by the missile. The next second, Peeves struck up a raucus song:

Oh truly its a wonderful sin,

when Cole the Mole cannot get in,

shes stuck outside the common room,

yes, it does look like shes doomed

to sit outside that portrait hole

oh, how she looks just like a mole,

she's rather ugly, that Rachel Cole,

spaghetti hair and puke green eyes

and all that she can tell are lies…

"Peeves!" Rachel shouted, "Go AWAY!"

She immediately wished she hadnt. Footsteps were rapidly approaching down the hall behind Peeves- he blew a loud burp in her direction and tumbled off down the hall, still singing his little song at the top of his lungs. Rachel, thinking quickly, dove for her bag and ran as hard as she could away from the footsteps, but for some reason, it sounded like they were getting louder the faster she ran. And it didnt sound like just one pair of feet. She didnt have enough energy to turn to see who it was, all she wanted was to find an empty classroom or something to duck into so that she wouldnt be caught roaming the halls after hours.

Perfect! As she turned a corner, her heart pounding, she noticed a door with a sign that read: "Out of Order". She tore the door open and whirled into the room, slamming the door shut behind her. She leaned against the door, her eyes closed, trying to regain her breath.

When she opened her eyes, she saw, to her surprise, not a bathroom, but a comfortably furnished room with a lot of really comfy looking chairs and books- that did not look at all like boring school books. Dropping her bag, she walked over to the bookshelf, running her hands along the spines: Anne of Green Gables, Lord of the Rings, Redwall, The Chronicles of Narnia, and more. She gave a small gasp of excitement- her favorite book, The Lost Years of Merlin, was laying on the shelf next to A Wrinkle in Time. she picked it up happily and plopped down on one of the chairs, flipping it open, and settling down to read.

* * *

While Rachel was shooed from the library, and while Lucius Malfoy strode toward the Lake, and while James, Sirius, and Peter struggled against the plants that were winding themselves around their legs, Remus was thinking. Suddenly, he brightened visibly. "Guys! I have good news!" 

The other three stopped struggling for a moment, and looked up hopefully. "You know how to get us free?" Peter asked, excited.

"Well, no," said Remus, looking around at their crestfallen faces, as if he did not know why they would be so unhappy that it was not the good news. He smiled happily at each of them, very obviously waiting for them to ask what the good news was. When they did not, he went on, "But… I did save money on car insurance by switching to Geico!"

They groaned. Remus looked indignantly at them. "How could you not appreciate my good news! I feel so… so… so hurt!" he proclaimed dramatically, flinging one arm upward. (The motion was rather slow due to the fact that they were underwater). "Well," he said in a sulky tone of voice, "I might as well not tell you that I know how to get us free, since none of you appreciate me…"

There was a clamor of voices as his friends began apologizing.

"Remus, we loved your joke!"

"Yeah, it was great! We were just-"

"-just so preoccupied by your beauty to fully appreciate the humor of the situation!"

This last was from Peter. Remus looked at him sappily. "Am I- am I that- that beautiful? Am I? Really?" He pretended to swoon while Sirius gave a disgusted snort.

"Wormtail, we knew you didnt like girls, but… to think you were… playing on the other team!"

Peter turned bright red. "Sirius, once we get out of here, Im going to hex you into oblivi-oomph!" His words were cut short by a large amount of lake grass that had climbed up his neck.

James turned toward Remus. "Get us out, Moony, now! Before Wormtail… suffocates, or something."

"But James, its nice and cool down here! Dont you think-" He stopped, seeing the look on his friends face. "Oh all right then. Ymobliarbate!" (A/N: Dare you to say that ten times fast!)

All four of them found themselves floating upward toward the surface, their bonds released. They broke through not a second too soon- the bubbles that contained their air burst just before they emerged. They surfaced, gasping and spluttering. None of them had been prepared for their bubbles to burst- Peter, Sirius, Remus, and James had each breathed in a large amount of water. Dripping wet, they clamored out of the water and onto the bank, resting for a moment on the ground. Then James stood up.

"C'mon, mates! Here comes Malfoy!"

Sure enough, Lucius Malfoy was striding down the hill toward them, straightening his robes and smoothing his immaculate blonde hair. The Maruaders ducked behind a bush, sniggering. "Look at him, the pompous git!" Sirius whispered. James doubled over, stuffing his hand in his mouth to stop himself from laughing out loud. Peter was grinning. Remus, however, looked worriedly toward the school, as a large clang reverberated through the evening air. The doors were about to close.

Malfoy looked worried, too. He stopped and glanced back at the school. Remus turned to James. "Prongs, it looks like hes gonna chicken out! What do we do?"

James grinned. "You'll see."

He stood slightly, so he was half standing. Raising a hand to the side of his mouth, he called in a very high pitched, girlish voice, "Oh, Lu-ci-us! I'm over here, sweety!" The other Marauders sniggered as Malfoy turned toward them quickly.

Sirius pulled something from his pocket and hurled it into the lake. Luckily, Malfoy didnt notice. But the giant Squid did.

It came out of the water slowly, bellowing as only a giant squid can. Malfoy raised his wand, his wand hand shaking.

James, judging the time was right, moved a large rock next to him. Inside a small hole underneath was a camera. He handed it to Lupin, who twiddled with a dial before raising it to his eyes. James winked at Sirius, then raised his wand. "Leviosa Letranoa!" he whispered, waving it and pointing it at Malfoy.

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, suddenly, Malfoy began to rise into the air, the back of his robes hanging above his head, as though an invisible hand was pulling him upwards. Malfoy began to struggle and kick. Then, suddenly, he was jerked toward the left, and was hanging over the lake.

The giant squid seemed particularly curious of this interestiong hanging peice of meat. He moved towards Lucius, who kicked harder. It raised an arm and began to prod the terrified Malfoy.

James beckoned toward his friends, and stood up, not looking away from the squid and the bait. They emerged from behind the bush, roaring with laughter. Malfoy tore his eyes way from the squid for a moment, and turned purple with rage upon seeing his archenemy. Lupin chose the moment to take a picture.

"Put me down!" Screamed Lucius.

James grinned. "Gladly," he said, whispering towards his wand. Malfoy fell, still struggling, the thirty feet into the water. The giant squid plunged in after him.

The maruaders, breathless with laughter, turned toward the school. The doors were about to close. They looked at each other. "Lets take the passegeway behind the mirror," Sirius said, "That way nobody'll ask why we're all so wet."

"Good idea, Padfoot!" James said, clapping his friend on the back. They turned toward the school, still chuckling, not noticing the look Malfoy gave them as he climbed, sopping wet, out of the lake.

* * *

Peeves was in a good mood. He had just managed to set off a dungbomb inside Filch's office- always an exciting, yet very difficult task- he had tricked a couple second years into letting him into the Slytherin common room,where he had wreaked total and utter havoc- and Rachel Cole was sitting dejectedly outside the Gryffindor house. 

He summoned up a large amount of pudding from the kitchens, although it came later than he would have liked, because the house elfs were always reluctant to provide him with anything they'd have to clean up later. Taking careful aim, Peeves lobbed the pudding at Rachel, who looked up when he grunted, and lunged forward, avoiding the ammunition. Oh well, at least he could rely on his wonderful brains to annoy her further. He began singing a song, made up on the spot- a very good song, if he did say so himself.

He came to a spot where he couldnt think of anything more to sing- but he was saved the trouble of looking slightly foolish as his target lept up, shouting at him.

What was that noise, behind him? Four pairs of feet, running rather quickly, sloshing. Hmm, could it be? But of course. It could only be his partners in crime, the Terrible Four. He decided to make his exit. Burbing loudly, he resumed singing, knowing it would only annoy her further.

Then he zoomed off down the hall, looking for Mrs. Norris. Then he spotted her; Happily, he summoned up some blue hair dye, and, cackling maliciously, took aim.

* * *

Shuffling under James's invisibitly cloak, the group neared the portrait hole. As they turned the corner,they heard shouting. Through the slightly filmy cloak, Sirius could see Peeves, burping at a girl, who dove for her bag and ran off the opposite way down the hall. He looked at James, who seemed to realize what his best mate wanted. He beckoned to Peter and Remus, and the four of them tore off down the hall after her. 

They turned the corner, but the hall was empty. Slowing down, Sirius looked up and down the hall. There was only one door, and it had a sign on it: Out of Order it read. But it was also the Room of Requirement.

"Should we go in? What dya reckon?"

James nodded, Remus shook his head, and Peter looked confused. "But its Out of Order! She wouldnt have gone in there, would she?"

"Idiot, that's the room of Requirement!" James hissed. Peter looked slightly less confused. "Oh."

"Oh," scoffed Sirius, "Alright, I've decided. We're going in."

"But what if…?" Remus trailed off, but the others knew what he was talking about.

"She'd have closed the stall door, right? Anyway, the Room of Requirement usually is something different on the door… shes probably in there sitting next to a blazing fire, in a big poufy armchair."

Sirius moved forward enough that the Invisibility Cloak fell off of him, and wrenched open the door. He was right- the interior of the room was not a bathroom, but a comfortably warm, richly furnished room.

James and Remus crept into the room after Sirius, but Peter was hesitant untill Sirius glared at him. Muttering under his breath so that only his friends could hear him, he complained something about "trouble", "mad", and "lunacy". The others grinned; they were used to hearing this from Peter, who mostly tagged along with their schemes, and was never very enthusiastic.

There was a large red armchair in the center of the room, and they could see that there was someone sitting in it, due to a foot that was wrapped around one of the legs, and the end of robes underneath the chair.

Sirius cleared his throat. The girl in the chair whipped around, startled. "Who's there?"

Sirius stared at her. She was startlingly pretty, with darkish brown hair that hung half a foot below the shoulders, hazel eyes, and a dainty figure. Her eyes, now, were wide with shock. Sirius stared openmouthed at her for a moment. Then he recovered, and closed his mouth.

Thinking quickly, he said, "Hello," /Brilliant, Padfoot/ he thought.

As it was, he thought he could hear his friends sniggering quietly behind him, still disguised by the cloak.

"I'm Sirius," he said, when the girl didnt reply to the first, ingenius introduction.

"I know," she said scornfully, "Now will you please leave me alone? I'm trying to read." She held up a book.

"Were you? Well…I read!" he said, grasping for something to talk about.

Her expression of scorn deepened. "Oh. Arent you special." She said sarcastically.

Underneath the cloak, the Other Maruaders struggled to resist gasping for breath. They rarely saw Sirius at a loss for words, and it was never in front of a girl.

Padfoot must have noticed their laughter, because he said, "Yes, I am. And my sense of humor does not include laughing at my friends." Before she could inquire after such an odd thing to be informing her, he went on, "Yeah, so Im Sirius. Who're you?"

She paused for a moment, as if reluctant to tell him. "Rachel Cole," she said after a moment.

"Aah. I like that name. Reminds me of that song Peeves was singing a moment ago."

She glowered at him, then turned her back on him and went back to reading her book.

"Oh, was he singing about you? You didnt look much like a mole to me, so I figured…"

Rachel turned around again. "Alright, what do you want?"

Sirius grinned. "What _do_ I want? Hmmm… thats a good question. Well, I wouldnt mind a million galleons… or a nice house in the country with a white picket fence… a dog…"

She scowled. "Go away."

Sirius made sure his grin slid slowly off his face before answering. "I dont see how you have any right to boss me around."

She stood up slowly. "I think this," she punctuated this by holding up a very shiny prefects badge, "shows that I have a right to boss you around. Now get out."

Sirius grinned again. "Well, see, that doesnt work on prefects." He whipped out a prefects badge from inside his cloak. "See? I think you need another way to prove to me how extremely bossy you are." He immediately regretted saying that, because her face was wearing such an expression of utter loathing and rage that she turned almost purple.

"How dare you say that! How dare you judge me? You think you can just prance around, getting on other people's nerves, just because the teachers think you're smart and girls like you!" She was screaching now. She strode forward towards him, pointing her wand. "How dare you come in here, bug the crap outta me, and then tell me I'm bossy when I ask you to leave me alone! God, I hate people like you!"

There was a momentary silence while she struggled to regain her breath. Sirius stood there, slackjawed. Then he said hastily, "Oh, well. I'll just be going." He turned to leave, but she grabbed his arm.

"Oh no you dont! Im not going to let you just skip out and have a good laugh with your friends- who I know is in here, by the way." She glared in the general direction of the Maruaders.

James pulled off the cloak. "Hello!" He stepped backward smartly as her hand whistled past his ear like an angry hornet, coming to land on Sirius's cheek with a smack. Sirius made a noise that sounded just like "You witch!" before turning away, clutching at his face.

Rachel seemed to have taken all her fury out with the slap, and did not look nearly as angry as she had. She turned away from them with a "Hmph!", stalked to her chair, and opened the book. James stepped forward, grabbed the book before turning it over and saying kindly, "It must be hard, learning to read upside down."

She opened her mouth to resume yelling, but he covered it with his hand. "Tut, tut! It does not do to yell at your superiors," he said in a wonderful imitation of Dumbledore.

She stared at him for a moment, bemused. Then she sighed and said, "Maybe you can tell me. What do you want?"

"Hmm…maybe a million gall-" he stopped as she glared at him. "Well, Sirius seems to want to follow you… I just want to get to bed, but he seemed to think it was important that you found a place to-" he stopped short as a hard fist collided with the side of his head. Sirius dropped his fists to his side, muttering, "Shut up." Then he turned and stomped out of the room.

Ooh… what'll happen next? I really have no idea… although I may involve Lily soon… :D

Please review!

-Rhia


	2. Girls and Boys

**Chapter Two **

_Girls and Boys_

oOo  
_(Sirius does some serious thinking.)_

The Fat Lady had returned to the portrait hole by the time Sirius reached it. "Anser Albifrons" he said dully before she had a chance to protest at how late it was. She pursed her lips, but swung forward to admit him.

The Gryffindor common room was as cheery as ever- lit by a large fire that blazed in the hearth, the light flickered against the red walls. The couch was unoccupied, so Sirius strode forward and plopped himself down on it. He did not notice the person that was sitting in an armchair next to the fire.

"Sirius?" it was Frank Longbottom, holding a long roll of parchment, his quill poised.

"Oh, hello, Frank," he said, faking a smile.

"S'matter?" Frank, although he was a rather bumbling young man, was very perceptive. He lay his quill down on a small table next to him.

"Nothin', Frank. Is that your Potions essay? 'Cause I haven't done mine, and I was wondering…" He trailed off hopefully.

"Er, no," Frank said, rolling up the parchment hastily and tucking it away inside his robes, "No, it's just a letter I was-"

Sirius stood up. "Oh, right. Well, I think I'll just head up to bed, then…" Turning away from the fire and his friend, he climbed the stairs, leaving a very worried Frank Longbottom.

* * *

Frank watched as Sirius disappeared up the stairs. Knowing that his friend would not appreciate his company right now, he merely pulled the parchment back out of his robes. But he was still worried. 

Unrolling the parchment, his eyes finished scanning the paper. It read-

_Dear Frank-_

_How are you, son? I hope this letter finds you well. I am as fine as I can be, although my search for the highly confidential letters that were stolen from the Ministry has not been going well. On a happier note, your mother is well, and has just received fifty galleons for those red dress robes she has been working on for so long. _

_Life at Hogwarts going well? I hope that Malfoy boy isn't bothering you much anymore- is he? _(Here Frank snorted. "I'm not a little boy anymore, dad,") _I'll have you know that his father, Randolf Malfoy, was just brought before the Wizengamot on charges of murder and an possession of dangerous materials. Of course, he got off- I suspect money exchanged hands somewhere in the process._

_I have just spoken with Charles Nestlie- the Department head of the Department of Aurors. I believe you said you know his son? Anyway, he told me that they are now on a severe shortage of Aurors. You might want to consider becoming one. Of course, I would be happy with any career you choose…_

_Now, about this girl you were talking about. Her father is highly influential in the Ministry- in a good way. I believe, correct me if I am mistaken, she is in Hufflepuff? Her father seems to think she should be in Gryffindor- I heard him complaining about it over the water bubbler. But seriously- I think you should go out on a limb and ask her. The worst she can say is no, right?_

_And a warning- something is about to happen- something very important to the magical world. I can't say any more here, but you'll find out soon enough. _

_In the meantime, don't worry too much about that Alice. She's just a girl._

_Love,_

_Dad_

Frank sighed and tucked the parchment back into his robes. What would his father know? "She's just a girl- pfft." He muttered angrily. "Maybe, but a very beautiful, smart-". He stopped abruptly as the portrait hole swung forward again. In tumbled Rachel Cole, another fifth year, apparently alone. Suddenly, three more people appeared out of thin air. "Hullo, Frank!" said James as he tucked the Invisibility Cloak inside his robes.

Frank looked quizzically at Rachel, who looked irate and disheveled, then at James, Remus, and Peter, who were grinning. "You weren't doing anything- against school rules, were you?"

"I wasn't," Rachel declared hotly. "But I can't vouch for _them_!" Then she pushed past them and stormed up the stairs to the girl's dormitories.

"What did you do?" Frank said, grinning.

James looked suddenly sheepish. "Well, I think we killed Lucius Malfoy- and I kind of made a fool of Sirius- but it was Sirius that made her mad." He pointed at the stairs.

"Way to go, mate!" Frank said happily. "Lucius Malfoy, dead! It does seem too good to be true!"

James plopped himself down on the couch, followed by Remus and Peter. "So, how's it going with Miss Alice?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Oh, well… I don't think she even knows I exist…" Frank trailed off, watching the fire. Then he snapped back into reality and glared suspiciously at James. "Wait. How did you know…?"

Remus chuckled. "How could we not?" Peter nodded, grinning. "After all, you **do** moan her name in your sleep several times a night..." While most of the dorm rooms contained only four people, there were too many first years this year, and Frank had ended up having to share a dorm with the Marauders until the teachers were finished spelling the tower to expand.

The three watched as Frank turned several shades of red. "I do?" he whispered, mortified. James curled over, laughing heartily. "Yeah, Frank, y'do. All the time." Suddenly, he put a hand to his ear. Turning around on the couch, he grinned wolfishly. "Do I hear the lovely sounds of Miss Lily Evans?"

Sure enough, footsteps and voices could be heard coming down the stairs from the dormitories. Lily Evans and Felicia McDaniels came into the light of the common room, chatting. Lily's deep red hair caught in the firelight, and her eyes were sparkling. Felicia, a plain girl with strawberry blonde hair, was in the process of telling a story, waving her hands animatedly in between fits of giggling. She stopped when she noticed the four boys in the common room, turning slightly red.

Lily rolled her eyes at her friend's boyphobia. She couldn't see James or Remus because of the tall back of the sofa, but she did notice Frank and Peter. Knowing that Peter rarely went anywhere without the help of one of his friends, she figured she'd be right in assuming that Potter, Remus, or Sirius were nearby. Wheeling around quickly, she dashed back up the stairs, pulling Felicia with her.

_If I can avoid Potter for just one night_, she prayed, feet pounding on the stairs, _I'll send Petunia a card for her birthday. _Ignoring the protests of her friend, she whipped open the door to the girl's dorms and slamming it behind her. Much more calmly, she moved toward the set of stairs that led to their own dormitory. Felicia trotted to keep up. "Lily! Lily, slow down!" She gasped, out of breath. Of all of Lily's friends, she was the least in shape.

Lily kept moving, deep in thought and angry as hell. Trust Potter to ruin her night by showing up. They'd have to wait until the morning to retrieve the note. Great.

When they reached the door to the dorm, both girl's slowed and stood outside it for a moment. "Sorry, Licia... I saw that Pettigrew kid and figured Potter'd be nearby. Sorry!"

Lily stared at her friend for a moment. "Licia?"

Felicia grinned at her, attempting to hide her blush. She had only caught a glimpse of him, but seeing Frank Longbottom had made her night all that much better. "Yeah, that's okay, Lily. Don't worry. Let's just go to bed."

They crept into the dorm room quietly. Jennifer Stalls and Hilary Niall were both fast asleep in their respective beds. Neither made any indication that they heard their friends come in. As silently as they could, Felicia and Lily changed into their pajamas and crept into bed.

* * *

Sirius Black wasn't the type of person to be angry with his friends for very long. He wasn't sure if this was due to the short attention span he had been blessed with, or because of his generally genial nature, but there was no denying it: no matter how many times he replayed the scene in the Room of Requirement inside his head, he couldn't bring back the anger he had found inside himself towards James. 

It wasn't like what he had said had been particularly embarrassing, either. The one thing all four Marauders knew was that they had an unspoken rule never to embarrass each other. James had just been...

Trying to help.

Maybe.

From where he sat by the window in his dorm room, Sirius could see lights flickering off one by one down in Hogsmeade. His thoughts turned to the last time he had been there. Just last night, as it were. He and his friends had spent the evening joking with Madam Rosmerta, drinking mug after mug of Butterbeer. Of course, they were there after curfew at the school and had had to sneak to and from Hogsmeade under the invisibility cloak that James had received from his father a year earlier.

His mind wandered back to last summer. James had invited him over to spend the summer at Potter Mansion, a large and comfortable summer home. Mr. and Mrs. Potter had treated him as if he were a second son, giving him whatever he wanted and letting him and James have free reign over their activities. They had spent the summer flying around the country (James on his broom and Sirius on his flying motorcycle), hanging out at the private beach near the house, or strolling around the muggle village nearby. It had been quite fun.

Thinking about earlier, he wondered why he had never noticed Rachel before. They were prefects in the same house, and they would have had to do rounds together. Now that he thought about, he realized that he had never really paid attention during any meeting between the prefects.

He resolved to less attention to Gina Millerton's curves and more attention to what the other prefects were saying or doing during meetings and rounds. It would be difficult, he told himself, but he could do it.

Yes he could.

He stood up, filled with new resolve, and headed back down into the common room, thoroughly more cheerful. Coming down the stairs, he ran into his friends, who were coming up.

All four stopped, and an awkward silence ensued. Sirius, realizing it was his turn to say something, cleared his throat.

"Er... look, Prongs, I'm, er, sorry for punching you, uh... earlier." He trailed off, looking at his friend hopefully.

James stood silently for a moment, and then swung his fist toward Sirius's face. The collision made a slight thonk noise, and he stepped back, grinning. "Apology accepted," he said in a very good impression of his mother, who was famous for saying the exact phrase.

Sirius clutched his face for a moment, and then grinned back. "I deserved that, didn't I?"

His friends nodded, obviously relieved that he hadn't been too pissed at them. He sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Yeah. Okay." There was another awkward pause.

Remus cleared his throat. "Rachel got back to her dormitory safe and sound, in case you were wondering..."

James's grin spread wider across his face. "And, _I_ got to catch a glimpse of the beautiful Lily-Billy!"

Peter, turning slightly red, decided not to mention his elation at seeing Felicia McDaniels. It would be better for him if they didn't know. They'd never let him hear the end of it. He pictured them ragging him during breakfast about it. He shuddered, following his friends up the stairs into the dormitory.

* * *

Here is the place where I  
Respond to your reviews  
Seeing as its such a short little spot  
Make it longer and REVIEW! 

**tresdrole**: Rachel has had a bad day. Don't blame her for the way she acts. And I hope this chapter explains a little more fully the reason Sirius didn't know she was a prefect. Thanks!

**XHorocruxesx00X**: thanks a bunch, although I'd hate to see a "class b" story, if this is an "A"...

**Authoress's Note**:

I was thinking of not posting until I got more reviews, because, sadly and pathetically, I only have TWO... but its been somewhere longer than three months, and the reviews have not added up.

So. I'm posting this in hopes of more reviews. And the next post will be only after I receive five or more. So, click the little blue button down there and type up a little note for your poor authoress. She's lonely without the lovely little remarks.

**Note to flamers**:

Please note that your notes will only be used as fuel for the fire that heats the water for my hot chocolate. Thank you and have a nice day.

Until next post,

your tired authoress


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